Under The Midnight Moon
by Zeroisallthatiam
Summary: Naruto still can't understand the pain and loneliness that seems to be growing inside of him...why seemingly everyone especially sakura seems to still hate him Sorry haven't updated in a while, been busy and im starting a new story! keep your eyes out!
1. Lost Thoughts

Disclaimer: I sadly own nothing of Naruto and its characters.  
  
(Hey Zero here, this is my first Naruto fic and well I'm going to say that this fic is going to be a romance/action/adventure and well not much else to say except I'll be starting this fic at a point in the anime Naruto not yet covered and will not be for a long in Shonen Jump, so if you don't want any major spoilers I suggest that you don't read this fic. With that said let the Story Begin!)  
  
Chapter 1: Lost Thoughts  
  
A faint wind blew across the dark land. There was a full moon out, which flushed the streets and buildings of village of Konoha with a faint eerie glow almost as if it was daylight. No one within the whole village was awake to witness this beautiful sight however except for one.  
  
On the outskirts of the village slightly into the forest a young boy of the age of 13 with wild blonde hair, deep crystal blue eyes and dressed in his usual attire, a orange jump suit was laid spread eagle in a big patch of moonlight surrounded by the great oak trees of the forest. The boy's name was Naruto and he was training to become the best Shinobi, the Hokage.  
  
Luckily for him he enjoyed the pale beauty of the full moon because even if he had wanted to move out of the moonlight or even turn on his side he was incapable of doing so for he could not move his body one inch, the result of spending the whole day in the forest (again) practicing his ninjutsu. The Rasengan more precisely, a technique that his "New Master", old perverted Jiraiya had taught him on his journey to recruit the newly appointed Fifth Hokage-Tsunade.  
  
He was starting to master the technique because could now perform the Jutsu twice in a row, but he still could not do it without the help of a clone or doppelganger. "Shit" he whispered frustrated he closed his eyes and began thinking of his life and what was going on. Things hadn't been going to well since he had gotten back from his mission.  
  
Despite all of his improvements no one had noticed because they were all too busy hating his guts he thought angrily. Orochimaru was still out there planning who knows what, Sasuke and Sakura as far as he knew still thought he was an idiot and hated him.  
  
He cringed when he though about them especially Sakura, he had liked her for so long and she knew but all she ever did was either yell of hit him, which was hardly considered attention or swoon over that ASSHOLE Sasuke! Anger and pain as well as lonely started to swell up inside of him as it always did when he thought about them so he pushed them to the back of his head the started to think about something else  
  
Jiraiya had told him about a new group called the Akatsuki, which was now after him for the nine-tailed fox demon inside of him-Kyuubi. This thought made him angry too. Why couldn't he be normal!? Why was he chosen out of all the people in Konoha to carry such a monster such a curse!? Tears started to swell up in his eyes as he thought of all the pain and hatred he had received from his childhood and he still received all because of the damn demon living inside of him!  
  
Although Kyuubi had saved Naruto a few times in the past when he needed strength the most but still he didn't feel the pain was worth it. At times he just felt he would rather die than take the pain and loneliness inside of him any longer, but he kept on living fighting the pain hoping that one day he would something that would make the pain go away. With a tired mind and body Naruto fell asleep in the quite night.  
  
The sun was just beginning to rise above the village of Konoha. At that very moment a beautiful young girl also about the age of 13 with lovely pink hair and deep green eyes could be seen skipping down the street. Her name was Haruno Sakura.  
  
She had just left her house and was on her way to meet her master and teammates at an appointed spot. She knew full well that her master probably wouldn't be there for a few more hours even though they were supposed to meet in five minutes but she knew that her cell would be there on time.  
  
One boy in particular, Uchiha Sasuke. "Ooooo" she squealed just that name gave her shivers and the thought about spending some alone time with him was overwhelming. When she arrived at the appointed meeting place she was surprised to see that both Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke were both already there.  
  
"HIII" Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke-kun! Sakura yelled now running down the street. "Oh, god here she goes again." Sasuke said quietly to himself. Sakura stopped breathing slightly heavy smiling and blushing wildly at Sasuke.  
  
"Well, now that everyone's here let's get going." Kakashi stated  
plainly. Both Sasuke and Sakura both looked up surprised. "Wait a minute sensei..." Sakura said regaining her breath, "What about Naruto?" She was kind of surprised at herself for asking that kind of question.  
  
"Oh, Naruto is no longer in our cell. He's now under the guidance of Jiraiya-sensei." Kakashi replied quickly. This last statement really shocked both Sakura and Sasuke. "Oh, no..." Sakura said quietly. She felt herself suddenly saddened by this.  
  
But wait, the less of Naruto around to bug her and more time for her and Sasuke to be alone together the better she thought. He was loud, obnoxious, annoying and he and Sasuke were constantly fighting, but... Naruto had always been there with them through the whole time, and though most of the time they were the ones getting Naruto out of trouble there were times in the most dire situations when Naruto's true strength showed and using it he had rescued them both a few times in the past.  
  
After all the time she had spent around him she had even grown a certain fondness towards Naruto that was well...different from the feelings she felt towards Sasuke.  
  
NO, she told herself firmly, this is definitely a good thing I'll have more time with Sasuke so I can try to get him to like me, she thought trying to cover up her previous thoughts, but they were still there in the back of her mind.  
  
"So, that's how he got so strong" Sasuke said through clenched teeth. Sakura looked over at him and saw that he was having his own thoughts about Naruto. "That's how he was able to...on the roof."  
  
Sakura gasped, she remembered that little incident on the roof that might have escalated into something big if Kakashi had not intervened.  
  
"Jiraiya-sensei, must have taught him that technique which...which is stronger than the Chidori!" Sasuke said staring down at his right hand. "Kakashi-sensei, what was that technique that Naruto used on the roof, teach me how to use it!" Sasuke turned on Kakashi, anger flaring in his eyes.  
  
"Well, to tell you the truth Sasuke I really don't know how to use that jutsu." Kakahi replied sheepishly. "But... then how..." Before Sasuke could finish his sentence a huge explosion ripped through Konoha and an enormous cloud of giant smoke could be seen floating upwards.  
  
"THE VILLAGE IS UNDER ATTACK" they heard someone yell. People were running through the streets trying to get to the shelters. "another one?" Kakahi yelled, "Sasuke, Sakura let's go!"  
  
On the outskirts of the village Naruto was sleeping peacefully until...KABOOM. The huge explosion that shook the entire village also served as a big alarm clock. Naruto shot straight up all the pains in his body the night before completely gone.  
  
Naruto saw the huge smoke emerging and lots of screaming and shouting. Quickly he jumped to his feet threw his orange coat on not bothering to button it up and ran down to see what the hell was going on.  
  
Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura moved quickly through the village. They saw other shinobi jumping from building to building moving down the village to the explosion, chuunin and jounin alike.  
  
Finally Kakashi and his cell rounded the last building to come face to face with a horrific sight. There were hundreds of shinobi from the sound and mist. Although all of the shinobi's from the mist had slashes across their headbands.  
  
Just like Kisame, Kakashi thought, these shinobi must have been sent by the Akatsuki but, for what purpose it couldn't be just to attack the village. No, they were trying to accomplish something but what he could not tell.  
  
Unfortunately Kakashi had no time to think, there was fighting to be done. The village and it's people needed to be protected. "Sasuke, Sakura, make sure no enemy ninja pass this point into the village!" Kakashi yelled back, before he hastily pulled up his headband revealing the dreaded Sharingan eye and charged ahead into the battle.  
  
"Heh, you gotta be kidding me," Sasuke said with a laugh as he ran off in a different direction. "Hey, wait Sasuke-kun! Sakura shouted after him "Kakashi-sensei told us to..." but it was no use Sasuke either didn't hear here or didn't care (it was probably the second one) and he kept going.  
  
I won't be much of a defense against any ninja trying to get inside, Sakura thought to herself. She might even get herself killed, so she ran as fast as she could after Sasuke with her kunai knife drawn.  
  
Weaving in and out of different battles Sakura chased after Sasuke all different types of ninjutsu was flashing everywhere around Sakura. Fire, water, lighting, wind, earth, she had never seen so many different variations of ninjutsu.  
  
In fact she would have been amazed if she wasn't so terrified. Some of those attacks actually almost hit her, but this was expected, after all this was a battlefield.  
  
When Sakura finally chased Sasuke down to a clearing along the outskirts of the village just at the entrance to the forest, she was surprised to see that Sasuke had already found an opponent. He was a shinobi of the Sound and he was HUGE!  
  
He stood at least twice as high as Sasuke and twice as wide as well. By the looks of it he was a Jounin as well. Oh, why does Sasuke always have to pick fights with strong guys Sakura thought dismally.  
  
Quickly she ran over to Sasuke's side and held her kunai knife up ready to fight. "Just what do you think you're doing Sakura-chan?" Sasuke said coldly to Sakura without even looking at her. Taken aback by this Sakura felt hurt but tried to explain herself nonetheless, "I-I was gonna help you Sasuke-kun...." She stammered.  
  
"Shit" Sasuke spat, clearly pissed, "Go back to the village you'll just get in my way here!" This last comment really hit home and Sakura couldn't help but cry. Tears started to run down her beautiful face but Sasuke didn't care. "H-How can you be so c-cruel Sasuke-kun," Sakura managed to say between bouts of tears, "I-I was just...I was just trying to h-help you"  
  
"Damnit Sakura, this is a battlefield and there is no place for your dramatics or weakness here, all that matters having the strength to win the fight and I'll be damned if I let you hold me back!!!" Sasuke yelled this time looking deep into Sakura's eyes. Never...never before had he looked so cold and serious.  
  
Meanwhile the enemy shinobi was watching this whole scenario and he noticed when Sasuke took his eyes off of him. Perfect he thought. He began forming a hand seal and ended with both of his hands clenched together. EARTH- SHATTER NO JUTSU he bellowed and crashed his right foot into the ground, tearing the earth in a straight line towards Sasuke and Sakura.  
  
Sasuke notice this attack at once and was quick to jump out of the way but Sakura still shocked by what Sasuke had just said to her was not able to jump away in time. She screamed as the ground broke away under her and she began clawing and something, anything that she could to prevent herself from falling.  
  
Sakura's hand just barely grabbed the edge of the ground, which was splitting rapidly. She looked down and was horrified to see that it was totally black as in she could not see the bottom of the crack. To make matters worse she could feel the edge of which she grabbed starting to crumble. It wouldn't last long.  
  
"Help, Sasuke-kun!" she screamed, "I'm slipping!" She looked up to see that Sasuke was staring right at her. But to her total dismay all Sasuke did was give her a disgusted look and turn back towards his opponent.  
  
Sakura was completely and utterly overwhelmed with sorrow. Forget going on a date with him, Sasuke didn't even care about her enough to help her climb up from the pits of death.  
  
Tears started to swell up both inside and outside of her. Suddenly she didn't care if she fell. Because the one she cared about most had just totally shattered her heart.  
  
Sakura felt the edge on which she was holding fall away, and time seemed to pass in slow motion as she fell backwards into the dark abyss. She was almost happy, at least she wouldn't have to feel the incredible pain she was feeling right now.  
  
Sakura's body fell back her hair flowing upwards until suddenly a hand grasped hers. Her body was jerked upwards and she felt a wave of relief. Sasuke had changed his mind about her he had saved her! At least that was what she though until she opened her eyes and saw that it was not Sasuke's hand that was holding on to hers but Naruto's.  
  
"Sakura, hold on!" Naruto yelled as he slowly lifted Sakura out of the crack, his teeth clenched and his body straining. "Why? Why Naruto..." Sakura thought to herself as she was being pulled up onto solid ground.  
  
She looked up at her savior and saw that he was panting, obviously he had saw her falling and was rushing to try and save her which he did. Sakura's eyes met Naruto and Naruto did something that Sakura would never forget. He gave her his big, goofy trademark smile.  
  
Sakura suddenly burst out in tears, as she rushed forwards into Naruto's arms sobbing uncontrollably. she couldn't help it she didn't know or care what was wrong with her all she wanted was to be in his arms.  
  
Naruto was slightly taken aback, this was extremely unusual for Sakura he thought, but then he thought about what had just happened so he softened his expression and wrapped his arms around her and put his hand on her soft, silky pink hair. "There, there it's going to be ok," Naruto said softly. Sakura started to wipe her eyes as the last of her hiccups were subsiding.  
  
She looked up deep into Naruto's eyes, his deep, beautiful, crystal blue eyes, and saw something. She felt a strange emotion deep inside of her pulsing. That feeling towards Naruto had been growing slowly within her only she never noticed it...until now. What she saw...was it love? She gazed deeply into his eyes and he gazed back into hers, all of a sudden Sakura felt so...she felt so warm.  
  
Naruto was loving every moment with Sakura in his arms. He loved everything about her, from her looks to her hair to her smell to her attitude even though at times it could hurt, but this wasn't like Sakura and he knew that this was probably to good to be true but he didn't care. As long as he had the moment he would make the best of it. That glossy look of happiness in her eyes was suddenly replaced with sheer terror.  
  
Naruto knew something was wrong, he whipped his head around to see one of the shinobi's of the mist with the slash across his headband standing over him with a sword about to stab.  
  
Quickly Naruto shoved Sakura to the side just as the sword came straight down into Naruto side. Naruto screamed loudly and slumped over. The shinobi laughed and pulled out a dagger about to make the finishing blow  
  
Sakura couldn't believe what was happening. Everything seemed to be going by so fast. Naruto...he can't die! She thought to herself, but the look of him slumped over like that...wait his hands were still moving.  
  
Naruto formed the sign of the doppelganger and a clone of him appeared right behind the shinobi who had just stabbed him. The shinobi turned around just as the clone jumped straight into the air and delivered a powerful kick to his jaw.  
  
Ahh, Naruto had purposely slumped over to make it seem like he was immobilized and to cover up his kagebushin hand seal so that the enemy shinobi wouldn't be able to see it.  
  
The Shinobi flipped several times in the air before falling on his face and stomach, blood dripping from his jaw, completely knocked out. Naruto cringed in pain as he reached back and took the sword out of his side.  
  
"Naruto, are you ok?!" Sakura yelled, running up to him but Naruto quickly stood up getting into a fighting position. Sakura wondered at what he was doing but after quickly looking around she found out why. They were completely surrounded by a circle men in black and red cloaks. They started to move in closer to their target.  
  
Sakura was suddenly terrified all over again. Where was Sasuke where was everyone. She wanted to curl up into a ball and hide. She looked up at Naruto who was still bleeding from his wound. She winced wanting to help him but knowing that now was not the time. Naruto turned his head back towards her, "Don't worry Sakura-chan, I'll protect you!" he said and put his hands together forming a hand seal again.  
  
KAGEBUNSHIN NO JUTSU!!! Naruto yelled, a huge puff of smoke exploded out of nowhere and Sakura was suddenly surrounded on all sides in a circle by Naruto's clones like a barrier...protecting her from harm. Naruto and his clones faced off against their new attackers ready to fight, a fire burning in his eyes.  
  
Well this is the end of chapter one! Please excuse me if there are a few spelling or grammatical errors I was kinda in a hurry to finish this chapter and sorry it's a little short I'll try to make my next chapters a but longer. Well anyways that's all for now I have some very interesting things planned for this story but I can't promise them unless you guys give me lots of reviews, HA. Well so long for now. 


	2. To Each His Own

Disclaimer: Why do you guys bother reading this thing it always says the same thing and that's "I Don't Own Naruto."  
  
Hey Everybody Zero here again. Thanks to all of you guys for the reviews. And Plz Plz Plz keep them coming, the more the better lol. I want to say before we get started, Ill be changing the name of master to sensei. So instead of Master Kakashi it'll be Kakashi-sensei. And I'll also use san, sama, kun and chan as well. Sorry about before I actually prefer to write it that way but I thought more people would like in the English way. Anyways all of your guys question will be answered in the story. Just my way of getting people to read lol! Anyways with that said let chapter 2 Begin!  
  
Chapter 2: To Each His Own  
  
This was not good Sakura thought. Sakura's whole body was trembling; her usually lovely pink hair was frizzed and all over the place. She was surrounded by Naruto's clones, they all looked identical but she knew which one was the true Naruto because of the blood dripping down his side. The wound that he received from the previous shinobi was bleeding a lot and this fight was not helping at all.  
  
Sakura slowly pulled a kunai knife out and hid it behind her back. This time she would not just stand back without helping. Men in black and red cloaks surrounded them. They were also wearing pyramidal-shaped straw hat. Whoever they were the situation seemed bleak. A loud voice broke Sakura from her thoughts, "I won't let you harm Sakura-chan, you Bastard! Go!" Just at that moment, all of Naruto's clones sprang forward towards the men in cloaks.   
Sasuke was breathing hard. He had a broken leg, two broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, cuts all over his body and he was currently on all fours. Needless to say he was having quite some trouble with the huge sound Shinobi. "Damnit..." Sasuke cringed as he spat out some blood.  
  
I won't give up, Sasuke thought to himself. "If I can't even defeat this guy how can I expect to defeat him...? Sasuke said to himself. With a grunt of pain Sasuke grabbed his shoulder and popped it back into place. He must be at least a chuunin, Sasuke thought dismally, probably even a jounin. "There's only one way I'll possibly be able to beat this guy" Sasuke pause for a moment as if he was catching his breath, then simultaneously opened his eyes and yelled "SHARINGAN!"  
  
The Sound Shinobi was quite enjoying the fight. He was indeed a jounin and he had the total upper hand in the whole fight in fact he had just been playing with Sasuke the whole time. He watched with a smirk on his face as the genin in front of him rose from the ground stumbling slightly and closed his eyes.  
  
He must be praying the sound shinobi thought to himself, still smiling. The Genin opened his eyes and yelled something, but what it was the sound shinobi couldn't really understand. (Ironic isn't it?) But as soon as he got a good look at Sasuke's eyes he understood. "The Sharingan mirror wheel eye...Uchiha huh?" The sound said to himself "I thought that whole clan was wiped out by Itachi-sama, oh well, it'll be my honor to kill this kid!"  
  
Sasuke rushed towards the huge shinobi full force. The sound shinobi began forming a series of hand seals then yelled "SHOCKWAVE NO JUTSU". He slammed both palms one on top of the other into the ground creating a huge ripple of earth spreading outwards in every direction. Sasuke leapt straight into the air to avoid the wave and made his own series of hand seals.  
  
"GRANDFIREBALL NO JUTSU" Sasuke shouted and then fired a huge fireball towards his enemy. The Sound Shinobi quickly performed another series of hand seals making a huge slab of ground shoot up to block the fireball.  
  
"Ha, for being a member of the Uchiha clan this kid is weak, he's nothing compared to Itachi-sama. I think I'll play with him a little more." The sound shinobi said out loud as the fire from the fireball roared around the huge slab. The sound slammed his fist into the huge slab of rock and shattered it instantly. He expected to see the kid rushing towards him again but in fact the kid was nowhere to be seen. He spun around looking for Sasuke but he couldn't see him anywhere. "Ha, be probably got scared and ran off, little chicken wuss." The shinobi said to himself with a laugh.  
  
Just as he was about to leave himself he heard a voice say, "Hey, behind you," The Sound Shinobi spun around with a look of shock on his face just to see Sasuke burst up out of the ground with a big blue electrical spark in his left hand. The Sound Shinobi tried his best to move out of the way but it was too late..."CHIDORI!!!" Sasuke yelled as he plunged his hand straight through the Sound Shinobi's chest.  
  
Blood splattered everywhere as they both fell to the ground. Sasuke laid on top of the huge Sound Shinobi. Sasuke pulled his hand out of the now dead Sound Shinobi and slowly rolled off of him and laid on the ground on his back. He was breathing heavily and he couldn't even move one inch, but despite all this he smiled. "Yea, I did it...Brother you're next." he whispered quietly to himself as he slowly slid out of consciousness. Although Sasuke had won his battle things were not going as well for Naruto and Sakura. The clones were no match for the men in cloaks. Naruto was doing his best to fight on but it was clear that he was running out of chakra.  
  
"KAGEBUNSHIN NO JUTSU, KAGEBUNSHIN NO JUTSU, KAGEBUNSHIN NO JUTSU!!!" Naruto yelled creating more and more clones, but it was useless. The men in black cloaks almost instantly destroyed every clone that Naruto created.  
  
"Naruto, stop if you keep using the kagebunshin you'll die!!!!" Sakura cried trying to stop him. "No, I can't Sakura-chan, if I stop, there will be nothing between them and us!" Naruto replied, forming the hand seal once again.  
  
Tears started to swell up in Sakura's eyes. It's useless Sakura thought, they are just too powerful and there are just too many of them. But there has to be another way! Just as Naruto summoned another batch of clones the men in black cloaks stopped moving.  
  
"What's going on?" Sakura said to herself quietly. She found herself surrounded yet again by Naruto's clones. She looked over as the real Naruto to find that he wasn't doing so well. He was still clutching he side as blood dripped off of his hand, sweat was dripping off of his face and he was breathing heavily.  
  
A look of worry came over Sakura's face. Oh no, all of this stress is taking its toll on Naruto, especially with that wound. I've got to get Naruto some help or he might die! Sakura thought desperately. Unfortunately at that moment that was the least of her worries.  
  
One of the men in black stepped forward, he slowly took his straw hat off. Sakura gasped when she saw his headband. It was a Leaf, just like the ones Naruto and herself were wearing only his had a gash straight through the middle. She was not quite sure who he was or what he was after but she knew what that gash meant. "You traitor!!!" She screamed.  
  
He replied with a very deep voice, "Ha that's right I am a traitor so what?" Sakura grinded her teeth in anger and shouted "YOU BASTARD, how could you do this!?". The man seemed to ignore Sakura's last comment and looked towards Naruto, "I can't believe this kid is my target, if I'd have known he was this weak I couldn't have wasted my energy with all of these clones."  
  
Just as he said that all of the other men in black cloaks disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Ah, I see" Sakura said out loud, "He was using the Kagebunshin as well! This should make things a little easier Nar..." "You're from the Akatsuki, aren't you?" Naruto said solemnly cutting Sakura off.  
  
"Ha, so you no about us." The man in black said with a laugh. "Yes, I was sent by the Akatsuki to perform a very special mission and you're my target, Naruto-kun." The man had a very dark smile on his face.  
  
Hold on, Sakura thought, what is this Akatsuki, and what do they want with Naruto? "I know what you're after!" Naruto replied angrily. "AND YOU'RE NOT GETTING IT!!!" Naruto screamed as his clones once again leaping towards the man in black.  
  
The clones didn't stand a chance however and the Man began beating the shit out all of them. "Naruto, what are we gonna do, the kagebunshin is no match for him!" Sakura whispered to Naruto. "Don't worry Sakura-chan, I have a technique that can beat him but I need your help to pull it off." Naruto whispered back. Naruto formed his hands into a hand seal again and yelled "kagebunshin no jutsu!" Instead of a whole batch of clones appearing, there was only one, "...One last time" Naruto said quietly  
  
The Man in black quickly disposed of the rest of Naruto's clones and began walking slowly towards Naruto and Sakura. He noticed that there were two Naruto's. He probably ran out of chakra, and could only form one last clone, the man in black thought.  
  
The real Naruto stood up quickly and yelled, "GO!" The last clone charged the man but he quickly backhanded it in the face knocking it aside. A look of pain splashed across Naruto's face and he fell back on the ground grasping his wound. "NARUTO!!!" Sakura yelled.  
  
Just as the man in black was nearing the two children the Sakura stepped firmly in front of Naruto and spread her arms. "I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun!" She shouted. The man smiled and said "Awww, how sweet." He knocked her aside in the same manner and continued walking towards Naruto. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto's clone yelled as it ran over to Sakura.  
  
Naruto had a look of pure fear on his face, as the man in black loomed right in front of him. The man bit his left thumb making it bleed and pushed it deeply into the center of his right palm. "Don't worry you won't die." As he said this he began forming a strange mark of blood with his left thumb on his right palm. He continued the mark up his right forearm as well.  
  
He then began a long series of hand seals finishing with the bottom of his right hand on top of the palm on his left hand. The mark on his right hand began to glow red as he grabbed Naruto by the shirt and lifted him off the ground.  
  
The man in black had a look on his face almost as if he was in pain as he hit Naruto in the stomach with his marked palm and yelled "KAIIIIII" Naruto screamed as a huge flash of blinding light red light appeared and then faded.  
  
The man in black's face looked grim. "What happened? This was not supposed to happen. WHERE IS IT?" he bellowed grabbing Naruto's shirt and lifting it up. "It's not there..." the man in black said weakly as he dropped Naruto on his back.  
  
A puff of smoke enveloped Naruto and showed that it was not Naruto at all, it was in fact Sakura. The look of shocked increased on the man's face, "If that was not Naruto-kun then..." The man spun around to see Sakura and Naruto's clone in a strange position.  
  
Naruto still looking like Sakura with a look of pure hatred on his face had his left hand clutching his side and his right hand containing an orb, which the clone seemed to be pushing down upon with both hands. "Now take this you piece of shit!!!" Naruto yelled as jumped forward the hand, which held the Rasengan cocked back.  
  
The man although capable of moving just stood there waiting for Naruto's attack. There seemed to be a look of great fatigue and melancholy on his face. Regardless Naruto did not notice as he slammed the Rasengan straight in the chest of the man in black.  
  
Sakura opened her eyes just at that moment to see a huge blast of chakra right above her. What surprised her even more was that she could she the man in black at the head of the small looking tornado, his body being blown backwards with ease by the force of the Rasengan.  
  
The Man in black finally stopped when he was slammed into a huge boulder. The force of the hit however was so great that the boulder was actually smashed in by the man in black's body. He had a huge gaping wound for a chest and almost every bone in his body was broken. Needless to say he was dead.  
  
"W-what was that? Naruto was that you?" Sakura stuttered. She got up slowly and turned over to see Naruto collapsed on the ground. "NARUTO!" she screamed rushing over to him. "Just wait...I'll get us outa here!" On the outskirts of the forest another figured robed in Black with a wide straw hat stood on the tip of a huge tree, he had been watching the battle. "That child may be more than he seems" He said quietly. "No matter, this was just a test anyways..." In the blink of an eye he was gone.   
  
Hey, everyone sorry that I haven't put out another chapter in a while but chapter 3 is almost finished so I'll post that soon and now the summer is here I'll try to get a chapter a week if that's ok with you guys. I promise this story's gonna get really interesting starting chapter 3. This was just kind of a warm-up chapter, lol. Anyways I'll update soon so R&R plz. Later 


	3. The Truth

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Naruto.... I think  
  
Hey Zero here, Chapter 3 is up so I hope you enjoy!  
  
Chapter 3: The Truth  
  
Sakura trudged heavily back to the village. Her whole body ached and every step she took felt like her last. The words "I have to help Naruto!" screamed inside her head. There's no way I'm going to let Naruto die, she told herself.  
  
She had one of Naruto's arms slung over her. He was still unconscious but he was looking better, his wound had stopped bleeding. Unknown to her, though Naruto's wound had not only stopped bleeding it was almost completely healed courtesy of Nine Tails.  
  
She could see many other ninja's walking back some being carried by others. Most of them weren't in any better condition than they were so she decided not to ask for help.  
  
"Hey Sakura..." she heard a voice behind her. She looked behind her to see Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei and another jounin coming up behind them. Sakura gasped when she saw Sasuke. Kakashi-sensei was carrying him and he looked to be in an even worse condition than Naruto.  
  
Despite what he said to her earlier she couldn't help caring about Sasuke. But Naruto was hurt too, so with the last of her energy she stammered, "Kakashi sensei! You must help Naruto. He's hurt bad and..." "Whoa, Whoa Sakura, slow down and tell me what happened." Kakashi-sensei replied calmly.  
  
Sakura explained the whole situation to Kakashi, how Naruto got hurt, the plan, and what the Man in Black did and what happened in the end. "Hmmm, I don't like the sound of it," Kakashi said contemplatively. "Kurenai, can you take these two back to the Godaime, she'll be able to heal them." Kakashi said indicating Naruto and Sasuke.  
  
"Right" Kurenai responded. She gave Naruto to the other jounin, took Sasuke herself and in a flash they raced back into Konoha. "Now, Sakura can you take me to the place where you and Naruto faced this ninja?" Kakashi said to Sakura.  
  
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei" Sakura responded. Sakura led Kakashi through the battlefield back to the spot where they had encountered the man in black. There they found the body of the man in black exactly where they had left it.  
  
"Hmmm, Naruto must've used the Rasengan." Kakashi pondered out loud while examining the thrashed body, Sakura nodded slightly. Kakashi examined the body from head to toe but he stopped when he saw the strange mark burned into the man's hand and arm.  
  
"I don't like the looks of this" Kakashi muttered under his breath. "What kind of ninjutsu is it Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked. "I'm not quite sure, it looks like some kind of sealing jutsu, only...different." Kakashi replied.  
  
"Sakura, run back to the village and inform the Godaime once she's finished healing Naruto and Sasuke. Tell her to come quick and bring Jiraiya-sensei as well." "Yes, Kakashi-sensei!"  
  
Sakura bolted back into the village while Kakashi stayed with the body. Within approximately half an hour Sakura returned with Tsunade, Jiraiya and two members from the ANBU squad.  
  
"What's the emergency Kakashi?" Jiraiya yawned; he seemed to have just awoken from a nap. "This..." Kakashi said plainly pointing to man in black. Jiraiya seemed to recover from his drowsiness immediately when he saw the corpse of the man in black.  
  
"So...The Akatsuki was behind this attack then..." Jiraiya replied sternly. "It seems so..." Kakashi answered. "And this was the one whom attacked Naruto?" Jiraiya asked Sakura. "Yes" She answered meekly. Sakura had already informed them of the situation  
  
"Wait a minute..." Tsunade butted in, "I thought the Akatsuki had only nine shinobi in their organization."  
  
"Yes they do, all of the ninjas who attacked us were probably just followers. Lower class henchmen." Jiraiya said out loud while starting to examine the body. "But was this really one of the nine?" Asked Kakashi.  
  
"No, I highly doubt it, I don't think a member of the Akatsuki would be so easy to get rid of" Jiraiya said. "He might have been dressed in that black robe for a reason... what it is, I'm not quite sure...." Jiraiya trailed off.  
  
All this time they were talking Sakura was just standing there listening to the conversation. She was getting confused she had no idea what this Akatsuki was or what it had to do with Naruto but she knew that this couldn't be good.  
  
"Hmmm? What's this?" Jiraiya said sternly his eyes opening wide. He had finally got to the mark on the man's arm. "I don't know" Kakashi replied, "I was hoping you could tell me."  
  
"This is a...." Jiraiya paused for a moment, and then all of a sudden he spun around and grabbed Sakura by her shoulders. He knelt down and looked directly into her eyes.  
  
"Sakura-chan, what I'm about to ask you is of the utmost importance, you must answer truthfully! Do you understand?" Sakura nodded a bit frightened at Jiraiya sudden move.  
  
"This man, when you and Naruto fought him...did he touch Naruto in any way with the hand which has the marks on it?" Jiraiya asked. All of the goofiness had gone out of his eyes; it was replaced with a serious cold stare, which frightened Sakura even more. "Please Sakura-chan! Did he?!"  
  
"N-No, he didn't Jiraiya-sensei. Naruto and I used Henge no Jutsu to switch places so that Naruto could use that technique you taught him." Sakura explained, "And he hit me with that hand instead. There was a bright red light and..."  
  
"So he never touched Naruto with that hand then?" Jiraiya cut her off. "No" She replied. Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief. "Jiraiya-sensei, am I going to be ok? Sakura asked fear growing in her eyes.  
  
Jiraiya's expression softened and he smiled, "Don't worry, Sakura- chan, you're going to be fine. That technique would have had no effect on you so don't worry about it ok?" "Ok" she answered still a little bit confused.  
  
"Now, why don't you go back to the village and get some rest." Jiraiya said while standing up. "Ummm, may I ask you one more thing Jiraiya- sensei?" She asked. "Uh, sure" "Naruto said that...he said that he knew what they wanted and that they couldn't have it,"  
  
"What was he talking about?" She asked. Jiraiya turned his back towards her. "Nothing, you needn't concern yourself, you and Naruto will be fine now, head back to the village, you've had a long day." He answered firmly.  
  
Sakura sighed and lowered her head. She realized that she would get no more answers so she heavily began trudging back to the village. As soon as she was out of hearing range Tsunade said "Follow her" to one of the ANBU members.  
  
He nodded, bowed slightly towards her and disappeared. "So Jiraiya- san...what is this mark anyways?" Tsunade inquired. Jiraiya was slow to respond, "This mark was made by the man using his own blood and then combined with the jutsu burned the mark into his hand...I've seen a jutsu similar to this before, but the degree of which this mark was burned onto his hand...I can tell that this was far more powerful than the one I saw."  
  
"So what exactly was this jutsu? Kakashi asked solemnly. This whole situation was turning into quite a suspense thriller and Kakashi hated suspense. The wind surrounding them just then seemed to get a little quieter and all noise seemed to fade away as if waiting for Jiraiya's answer.  
  
Jiraiya paused for a moment as if trying to select the right words and he then looked up and said.  
  
"This...is a seal breaking jutsu." "Seal breaking?!" Kakashi repeated his uncovered eye growing wide. "So...he was trying to break Naruto's seal and release Kyuubi" Tsunade said thoughtfully. "Yes, that was probably his mission from the Akatsuki...a mission which he gave his life for." Jiraiya said.  
  
At that moment everyone including Jiraiya looked extremely grim. All noise from the forest seemed to come back to life but there seemed to be an aura of fear in the air.  
  
"Looks like your teachings saved us all," Kakashi said lightly trying to lift the mood, "If Naruto hadn't known the Rasengan he wouldn't have been able to defeat this man."  
  
"No" Jiraiya interjected, "This man was dead the moment he used that jutsu regardless of whether it hit Naruto or not." "So, it's a kinjutsu then?" Tsunade asked. "Yes" Jiraiya answered, "So, the Akatsuki sent him to break Kyuubi's seal even if it meant ending his life" Kakashi pondered out loud, "Then this whole attack was just a diversion as well, all so that they could try to get to Naruto and release Kyuubi without any interference."  
  
The whole situation seemed to be getting worse and worse. "If that's the case then we can't expect this to be over. Jiraiya said, "They'll definitely try to get at Naruto again and next time they might succeed in releasing Nine Tails. I've been training Naruto to draw out and use a little bit of Kyuubi's Chakra but if the whole seal is released Naruto won't be able to control it and we'll have our fox demon back!" "So what would be the best course of action from here on?" Kakashi asked  
  
"We should go on the offense and hunt the Akatsuki down." Jiraiya said sternly. "But how...we have no idea how where they are or how to get to them." Tsunade stated. "I'll go to the Village sound since many of the attacking ninjas bore that headband....perhaps I can find something out." Jiraiya said.  
  
"Do you want to have some members of the ANBU squad accompany you?" Tsunade asked, "No, they'll just slow me down and make me look suspicious and stupid standing around them with those masks" Jiraiya said while giving the member of the ANBU squad who was standing there a weird look.  
  
"Until I get back prepare as many shinobi as you can to mobilize. Inform all of the Jounin and Chuunin of the situation assemble the teams and call the lands of Sand and Mist for help as well." With that said Jiraiya began walking off.  
  
"Wait!" "Tsunade called "You're going now?!" "Of course...no time like the present!" He called back. Tsunade sighed. "Just be careful" She yelled. He waved and continued walking on.  
  
"Should we mobilize the Genins as well?" Kakashi asked, "Yes" she answered, "We need to watch over Naruto carefully. We'll assemble teams of Genin and Chuunin and Jounins as the leaders." She paused concentrating on what else to do.  
  
"Kakashi gather all of the Chuunins and Jounins for a meeting and you dispose of this body." Tsunade said to the remaining ANBU member, "I'll send out a couple messengers to the lands of Sand and Mist. We'll need all the help we can get with this one."  
  
With that said, Kakashi disappeared in an instance while the remaining ANBU member gave a slight bow to the Godaime, grabbed the man in black's corpse, slung it over his shoulder and also disappeared.  
  
Tsunade gave a slight sigh. Just when she had accepted the position of 5th Hokage and everything had seemed to settle down something like this happens. She closed her eyes and began walking back to the Village of the Leaf.   
  
Hey everyone sorry that this chapter took so long to come out. I've been on vacation (and still am) and it's been hard to find time to write. Anyways I'll try to get chapter four out soon and again a lot of things will be explained in that chapter! Anyways thanks for reading and R&R plz. Later 


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